1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to patient identification products, including wristbands, anklebands, identification cards and labels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are acutely aware of problems associated with improper identification and tracking of patients. These concerns extend to carefully and correctly identifying specimens taken from a patient for analysis and carefully matching medicine for administration to a patient. With infants, the concerns also extend to properly matching parents with the correct infant.
Identification bands for the wrist and/or ankle typically are applied to a patient as part of the hospital admission process. The typical identification band is imprinted with the name of the patient and other relevant data, and sometimes is imprinted with a machine readable barcode. The barcode and at least some of the other data on the identification bracelet also may be imprinted on labels that are used periodically through the patient's stay in a healthcare facility. For example, a label can be applied to a documentation that goes into a chart that is associated with the patient's care. Labels may be applied to specimen collection tubes and the results of diagnostic tests performed on collected specimens will be routed physically or electronically based on data imprinted on the labels. Doses of medication typically are prepared by medical or pharmacy personnel and may be placed in containers that bear labels with barcodes. The healthcare provider may carry a barcode reader and will scan both the medicine container and the patient's identification band prior to administering a drug to ensure conformance. The patient's identification band also will be checked visually or by machine before performing any medical procedure.
The information printed on a patient's identification band and information printed on labels associated with the patient's identification band typically is stored in the memory of a computer. The patient's identification band and labels associated with the identification band are printed by a printer associated with the computer. The printer may be an inkjet printer, a laser printer or the like. Accordingly, the identification bands should be formed in a manner that will ensure efficient processing through a printer.
Identification bands and other identification material employed in a healthcare facility may be exposed to liquids and may be subjected to physical contact. The printed information must remain readable despite periodic moistening and contact. Accordingly, some identification bands are laminated structures with a clear plastic overlay secured on a substrate that bears the printed indicia. Laminated identification bands may require complex, time consuming manipulation by the healthcare worker.
Some patients remain in a healthcare facility for an extended time, and many of these patients have sensitive skin. For example, prematurely born infants may spend several weeks or months in a healthcare facility while they are being monitored, nourished and treated. A significant portion of this stay could be in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). These small babies often are visually indistinguishable from one another and are incapable of identifying themselves. Additionally, infants in a neonatal intensive care unit may have a specified regimen of nourishment and medication requirements based on their own individual fragile conditions. Accordingly, proper identification is essential. However, conventional identification bands are fairly rigid due to the thickness and stiffness of the materials and can easily irritate the skin of a small baby. Skin irritations or abrasions may require treatment and can complicate the extended stay of a premature baby in the neonatal intensive care unit. A similar problem can arise with elderly patients who may be required to stay an extended time in a healthcare facility.
Healthcare facilities also are concerned with security in and around the maternity ward and the neonatal care units. Accordingly, many hospitals require the parents to wear wristbands corresponding to the identification band worn by the baby. These parental wristbands place controls on the number and identity of people to whom the baby will be exposed and address security concerns of the healthcare facility. The parental wristbands desirably are printed automatically from the information stored in the computer and most preferably are printed simultaneously with identification band of the infant. As RFID technology grows and becomes mainstream, the use of this technology within an identification band creates the ability to track location or movement of patients within a facility, as well as enable dynamic collection and storage of other relevant information, increasing security.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide an identification band that can be worn comfortably by a patient for an extended time.
It is another object of the invention to provide an identification band that is well suited for infants, and particularly prematurely born infants, and elderly patients.
A further object of the invention is to provide an identification band that can withstand exposure to moisture and contact without affecting the ability to read, via RF, optical scan, or the like, the information presented thereon.
Still another object is to provide an identification assembly for simultaneously printing several identification tools including at least one wristband or ankleband.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide an identification band that can be applied and used easily by healthcare workers.